An Automatic Personalized Internal Fixation Plate Modeling Framework for Minimally Invasive Curved Bone Fracture...

In this paper, a framework to visualize and model internal fixation plates is presented for computer-aided personalized and minimally invasive curved bone fracture surgery.

We focus on personalized reverse reconstruction of the bone fracture plate based on three-dimensional (3-D) mesh models obtained from a 3-D optical scanner. The steps of the method are as follows. First, principal component analysis and the K-means method are used to reconstruct a Bezier curve (ridge line) of broken bones. Second, based on the geometric shape of the curved broken bones, a capsule projection model of the broken bones is proposed to obtain the feature information of the broken bone sections. Third, the ordering points to identify the clustering structure (OPTICS) method is utilized for preregistration (rough registration). Fourth, a regional self-growth strategy is designed to extract the cross-section points. Fifth, the iterative closest point method is applied for the accurate registration of the fracture surface models. Finally, a personalized internal fixation plate model is reconstructed based on several user points.

The internal fixation plate model can be reconstructed according to the patient's bone parameters.

Clinicians can use this framework to obtain personalized and accurate internal fixation plate models that effectively represent the broken bones of patients. Via X-ray navigation, the personalized forged plate can be fixed on the target area through a small incision.

This framework provides a reasonable and practicable technical approach for computer-aided minimally invasive curved bone fracture surgery.